The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Has Found its Leads

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping has found its leads! Joseph Zada will play the fan-favourite, Haymitch Abernathy.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping has found its leads! The Lionsgate film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by author Suzanne Collins. The book was published on March 18 and received wide acclaim. It sold 1.5 million copies in its first week of release in the U.S., the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The 1.2 million copies sold in its first week in the U.S. are twice the first-week sales of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and three times the sales of Mockingjay.

THE STORY

The story takes place 40 years after the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which focused on a young Coriolanus Snow and 24 years before the original tale led by Katniss Everdeen.

Lionsgate and Suzanne Collins delighted fans last year when they announced both the release of a new book and its film adaptation. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is set for a November 20, 2026, release in cinemas. This new prequel tells the events of the second Quarter Quell (the fiftieth Hunger Games) in which fan favourite character Haymitch Abernathy is the lead.

Francis Lawrence, who directed all the films from the franchise except the first one, is once again back in the director’s chair. Billy Ray, who co-wrote the screenplay for the first film, is also back. Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson produce, and Cameron MacConomy serves as an executive producer.

FILMING

The film is set to begin filming in July, and as fans await a first look, Lionsgate has made some exciting casting announcements. Joseph Zada has been chosen to play a young Haymitch Abernathy. Haymitch was played by Woody Harrelson in the original films. Whitney Peak will play Haymitch’s girlfriend, Lenore Dove.

Joseph Zada is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, RGM, and Goodman Genow. CAA, Canopy Media Partners, Play Management, and Jackoway Austen represent Whitney Peak.

However, that’s not all; Lionsgate has also announced two additional cast members. McKenna Grace is joining the tributes of District 12 as Maysilee Donner. Grace is best known for playing Phoebe Spengler in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. She is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.

AND FINALLY…

Finally, Oscar nominee Jesse Plemons has been cast as Plutarch Heavensbee. Heavensbee is a well-known character to the fans. He was previously played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Parts 1 and 2, were his final roles in cinemas. Plemons is known for his roles in The Power of the Dog (for which he received a nomination at the Academy Award), Kinds of Kindness, Killers of the Flower Moon and Civil War. He is represented by TalentWorks and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman.

Stay tuned for more casting news and announcements as filming for The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping gets closer.